(A) There is hereby constituted a planning commission to be known as “The Village of Birch Run Planning Commission”, the Commission to have all powers and duties as provided in Act 33 of the Public Acts of 2008 as amended.
(B) The Village of Birch Run Planning Commission shall consist of seven members. The members shall be appointed by the Village President with the approval of the Birch Run Village Council. The membership of the Planning Commission shall be representative of important segments of the village, such as the economic, governmental, educational, and social development of the community, in accordance with the major interests as they exist in the village, such as agriculture, natural resources, recreation, education, public health, government, transportation, industry, and commerce. The membership shall also be representative of the entire geography of the village to the extent practicable. Up to two members of the Planning Commission may be a non-elector. Up to two of the members, but not more than one third of the Planning Commission, may be ex-officio members consisting of the Village President, a Village Council member, the Village Manager or a staff person designated by the Village Manager.
(C) The Village President shall fill any vacancy in the membership of the Commission for the unexpired term with the approval of a majority of the members of the Birch Run Village Council.
(D) The term of the members of the Commission shall be three years commencing from the date of appointment, except for ex-officio members. The terms of elected ex-officio members shall correspond to their term of office. The terms of non-elected ex-officio members shall correspond to the Village President’s term of office.
(E) The Village Council may remove a member of the Planning Commission for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office upon written charges and after a public hearing. Failure of a member to disclose a potential conflict of interest as required by § 17(9) of the Michigan Planning Enabling Act constitutes malfeasance in office. For the purpose of this section, CONFLICT OF INTEREST shall be defined as outlined in the Village of Birch Run conflict of interest ordinance #99-2, as amended.
(F) The Planning Commission shall make an annual written report to the Village Council concerning its operations and the status of planning activities, including recommendations regarding actions by the Village Council related to planning and development.
(G) The Village Council may employ a planning director and other personnel as it considers necessary, contract for the services of planning and other technicians, and incur other expenses, within a budget authorized by it.
(H) Members of a planning commission may be compensated for their services as provided by the Village Council.
(I) After preparing the annual report required under division (F) of this section, the Planning Commission may prepare a detailed budget and submit the budget to Village Council for approval or disapproval. The Village Council annually may appropriate funds for carrying out the purposes and functions permitted under this act, and may match local government funds with federal, state, county, or other local government or private grants, contributions, or endowments.
(Ord. 2011-01, passed 4-28-2011)